Glyos – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Review > Reforged Hun-Dred the Conqueror and Origin Enemy the Dictator (Robo Force, ToyFinity)

On February 18, 2014

Six years ago, I wrote an article in ToyFare #132 about the 1980s toy line Robo Force. It was developed by the CBS Toy Company (formerly Ideal, who, side note, created the original Teddy Bear). Like dozens of toy lines in the 1980s it came and went fairly quickly. In my interview in ToyFare with Robo Force artist Paul Kirchner for ToyFare, he theorized that Transformers, which debuted at the same Toy Fair as Robo Force, crushed any chance Robo Force had.

However, in the 1980s even a short-lived toy line often had a production run that many modern toy companies would envy. And so many children had, among the assorted Transformers, He-Man or G.I. Joes in the toy box, an occasional Maxx Steele or Coptor.

Odds ‘n Ends > ThreeA Microman, Boba Fett movie, Power-Con

By Poe

On January 19, 2014

In Odds 'n Ends

After first announcing they’d obtained the Microman license way back in July 2011(!), ThreeA has finally revealed photos of the figures (or photos were leaked, I’m not sure). They’re 6″ tall and feature fabric clothes, like most ThreeA releases. They look intriguing, and it’s cool that they’re in 6″ scale, but I’m sure they’ll come with the usual high ThreeA prices and besides, I’m not a Microman fan anyway (well, except for a brief, odd period in 2004). However, I should note that in this particular case, the cloth isn’t what’s keeping me away – ThreeA is the only company whose fabric I like in sub-12″ scale. It’s the license and, presumably, the cost.
Let’s start by pointing out that this all comes from Latino Review. I have no idea what their reputation is at this point, but some of the people I follow on Twitter were very snarky about them, so maybe they’re known for being wrong a lot. I don’t know and I don’t care right now because this is so interesting and I want to talk about it. A lot.
Anyway, Latino Review claims Joe Johnston – director of The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, Captain America and oh yeah, the guy who designed Fett’s outfit (with Ralph McQuarrie) – may be in talks to direct the Boba Fett spinoff movie. Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and is writing Episode VII, is allegedly in talks to write it. But what gets me is this quote: “To counter-act the prequels, the Boba Fett spin-off movie planned for 2018 has an interesting twist pitched by Episode VII writer Lawrence Kasdan: the spin-off will start with a complete stranger killing Boba Fett and taking his armor, starting a Man-With-No-Name bounty hunter tale. So: someone kills the Boba Fett from the prequels and takes his armor and name. One this is for certain is that Kasdan didn’t like the prequel and wants no Boba Fett Clone in the spin-off film.” Does anyone? Maybe kids who have grown up with the character from The Clone Wars, which is one of several reasons I expect George Lucas to veto the idea if it’s actually at all in play. Can he still veto things? (Side note: Latino Review doesn’t understand Internet Star Wars fans very well if it starts off a rumor about killing off the prequel Boba Fett with “Strap in, a lot of you aren’t going to like this.”)
But here’s the funny thing about that killing-prequel-Fett-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie: I pitched this exact idea to Nemo Eight in a discussion we had last month. I even argued with him that the killing had to happen at the beginning of the movie and not the end; he liked the “surprise horror twist” of killing Fett suddenly at the end, whereas I pitched a Usual Suspects-type thing where you find out at the end that prequel Fett was killed at the beginning and the guy who you’ve been watching the whole time isn’t prequel Fett. Anyway, chalk me up for hoping this rumor is entirely true.
On another note, that article also states that Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt, who’s now off Star Wars Episode VII, was focused on the story of the Solo kids while Abrams (and Kasdan) felt it should focus on Skywalker. This is yet another example of something that makes me highly suspicious of Abrams. Han Solo was the audience representative in the original films – something that was sorely lacking in the prequels. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t like Jedi that much – this article covers some of the reasons why. I know it’s a geek cliché to claim some showrunner or producer doesn’t “get” a geek property. And Abrams is actually the perfect successor for Lucas in certain ways – they’re both obsessed with effects and mechanics. Abrams’ work has always reminded me of Treebeard describing Saruman: “he has a mind of metal and wheels.” To me, Abrams’s films fall somewhere between Spielberg and Zack Snyder – great overall concepts, well-directed, great action, but lacking in emotion, real characters, or compelling themes. Lacking heart. Even Super 8 felt like that to me. Abrams’s Star Trek films were fun but forgettable (and the second had some annoying fan service and lazy writing). Quite frankly, I trust Joe Johnston to make a great Boba Fett movie more than I trust Abrams to make a great Star Wars movie.
Power Con is moving from Anaheim to New York City. That’s big news, but what I’m more curious about is what “transforming back to its core roots” means. Does that mean Ninja Turtles and Thundercats have been given the boot? (You may also be wondering: am I going? Answer: Maybe. Not sure yet.)
There will be a Glyos drop tonight at 9:30 EST. Check out the link for the full list of products.
Spy Monkey Creations has updated the story of The Golden Age for the Weaponeers of Monkaa ahead of an upcoming new drop.
In the course of following various Twitter conversations I came across the H Hangar by Wave. It’s designed for Gundam figures, but I immediately saw the potential for Star Wars Black 6″ dioramas as a corner of the Death Star or a Star Destroyer. Because they’re only 6″ tall, you really need two, which I immediately ordered from HLJ.

New Robo Force figures on sale this Friday from ToyFinity

By Poe

On December 19, 2013

In News

There will be a new Robo Force drop from ToyFinity this Friday! This time the figures come with paint applications and look absolutely fantastic. I’m getting increasingly excited about this line. It’s an interesting time – soon the Power Lords will be able to interact with Robo Force and Mordles, with Manglors waiting in the wings.

More info from ToyFinity about the drop below. –PG

Enemy the Dictator

Hello Zetonian Fans!

The next release of ROBO FORCE product will be this Friday, December 20th, at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.

It has been a blast coming up with new colors for the Robo Force. The colorways in this release match the recent Onell Gendrone Rebellion/Ecroyex Initiative colors exactly, so you can upgrade your Robo Force with Glyos pieces (or vice versa)!

Power Lords Slate Zone figures go on sale for general public at 3pm ET

By Poe

On December 4, 2013

In News

The Power Lords Slate Zone Elite and Slate Zone Soldier go on sale to the general public today at 3pm ET (it’s exclusive for Club Members until then – you could add them to your cart, but without a Power Lords Fan Club number it’ll be cancelled). Only the remaining stock after Club orders will be sold, so if you really want these make sure to get your order in as close to 3pm as possible. Order them at www.shopfourhorsemen.com.

I like the very 1970s sci-fi vibe I get off these designs, particularly in these colors.

Odds ‘n Ends > Glyos & Power Lords drops, Funko Legacy rumors

By Poe

On November 27, 2013

In Odds 'n Ends

The final Glyos wave of 2013 is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 1st at 9:30PM EST.
The Four Horsemen’s sale of the Power Lords: Slate Zone Soldier & Slate Zone Elite will begin on Monday, December 2nd at 3pm EST on Store Horsemen and for the first 48 hours it will ONLY be open to Power Lords Fan Club members. Sales for non-Power Lords Fan Club members will begin at 3pm on December 4th IF any stock remains after the first 48 hours.
I’m working with NoisyDvL5 of ItsAllTrue on a fun holiday project. It’s a bit last-minute, so hopefully we’ll be able to pull it together. If we do, I think you’ll like it.
Rumored licenses for Funko’s 6″ Legacy Line: Game of Thrones, a Whedonverse line or two, and The X-Files (although only The X-Files has been “officially” hinted at by someone at Funko). The GoT hint allegedly came from Popcultcha, who – again, allegedly – had the following figures up for pre-order, according to Funko Fanatic poster arjybarjy: “The Hound, White Walker, Tyrion Lannister, Ned Stark, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow up for preorder, due in February 2014. They vary in size from 5″ for Tyrion to 8″ for The Hound and White Walker figs.” I couldn’t find them on Popcultcha, so either they got pulled or were never there in the first place (or…I just couldn’t find them). So like that Star Wars Black list from a couple of weeks back, consider this pure rumor-mongering for now.

A few new acquisitions & SWB Darth Vader speculation

By Poe

On November 13, 2013

In Blog

Just some random musings for you.

I got this guy recently via sponsor Nerd Rage Toys. Playmates’ short-lived Toxic Crusaders line was great because it was 100% compatible with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in every way – size, style, articulation, and even the overall theme. I only owned Toxie himself, but it was a great figure and line. In retrospect I wished I’d picked up the Radiation Ranger.

Red Iron Winner > Red Banigoth by Clark Walker

By Poe

On June 20, 2013

In Contests, Photos

Poe’s Note: I thought this one was adorable, and was fairly impressed by how well it was actually able to approximate the pose given the limited articulation. Congrats to Clark Walker!

Sightings > Outer Space Men Cosmic Creators Mel Birnkrant Edition of OSM Waves 3 and 4

By Poe

On March 21, 2013

In Sightings

The Outer Space Men line continues to chug along. The latest offering is the “Cosmic Creators” set of OSM waves 3 and 4, which were designed by OSM creator Mel Birnkrant. Fully compatible with Onell Design’s Glyos system, this is a limited-edition set available only through the official OSM site, theouterspacemen.com. The set sells for $80, is limited to 200, and will be signed by Mr. Birnkrant himself.

I know some of you are OSM fans and the 4H really want to promote this edition, so check ’em out.

I know I haven’t covered the line much here on the site, and I’ll admit I’m not collecting it, but that’s no knock against OSM creator Mel Birnkrant or the Four Horsemen – there’s tons of stuff out there these days and not everything is going to catch one’s fancy (unless you’re NoisyDvL5). I still think they’re very cool, and I’m considering picking up the deluxe characters like Cyclops and Colossus Rex.

Interview > DoctorKent of Toyfinity talks new Robo Force

By Poe

On March 7, 2013

In Interviews

DoctorKent

Code Name: DoctorKent, Doc Kent, or the Doctor
Real Name: John Kent
Base of Operations: Planet Uzalek, home of the Mordles. Also Toyfinity.com.
History: the journey to Toyfinity started for John Kent as it did for so many kids of the 70s – with Star Wars. Over the years, he collected the big lines – Joe, Transformers, MOTU – and the obscure – such as Rocks and Bugs and Things (RBT), Roadblasters, and Wheeled Warriors.

After closing the only officially-endorsed site about RBT on the Internet, John formed Toyfinity.com with Charlie Parry to help people see the connective tissues that run through every toy since Barbie. Moderator of the Glyos forum on October Toys and Producer of three full-length films (including the currently filming APOCALYPSE KISS), Doc Kent fights to bring information and entertainment to the people and propagate the legacy of Robo Force and Mordles!

Sightings > Interview with Wayne Barlowe

By Poe

On February 25, 2013

In Sightings

Powerlordsreturn.com has an interview up with Wayne Barlowe, the artist and creator of Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials who also helped Revell develop the Power Lords toyline in the 1980s. It’s a great article with an amazing artist, and well worth the read.

PLR EXCLUSIVE: Wayne Barlowe Interviewed About His Art, Toys & Creating The Power Lords

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DoctorKent